New Runway Plan Shown, Benefits Touted By A-b-e

October 06, 1992|by MARGIE PETERSON, The Morning Call

Less cost, less land, less noise. Those would be the benefits of locating a proposed runway 600 feet closer to the main existing one at Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton Airport, according to an airport consultant.

The revised plan for the addition of a 6,000 foot runway north of Race Street was unveiled yesterday in the wake of a barrage of criticism from neighbors and municipal officials objecting to a preliminary 50-year blueprint for A-B-E Airport expansion. The airport director and airport consultant said yesterday they tried to decrease the impact on the community with the revised runway proposal.

FOR THE RECORD - (Published Thursday, October 8, 1992) An article in Tuesday's Morning Call incorrectly stated that a meeting with Hanover Township (Lehigh County) residents and airport officials would take place on Oct. 21 at the township building on Grove Road. That meeting will be held at 7:30 p.m. in the auditorium/gym of Sheckler Elementary School, at 201 N. 14th St., Catasauqua.

Nothing is set in stone, but airport executive director George Doughty hopes to have a finished proposal to the Lehigh-Northampton Airport Authority by the end of the year for their action.

Consultant Paul Puckli of the LPA Group, Inc., told the authority's Business and Planning committee, that by building a new runway 3,700 feet from the existing main runway rather than 4,300 feet from it, 201 fewer acres in Allen and East Allen townships would be needed.

Under the original runway plan, 300 acres in East Allen Township and 62 acres in Allen Township would be needed for the new runway. The new proposal would cut the amount of additional land needed to 177 acres in East Allen and 44 acres in Allen, Puckli said. Acreage needed in Catasauqua and Hanover Township would largely remain the same, Puckli said.

Doughty is scheduled to meet with East Allen Township residents to discuss expansion at 7:30 p.m. today at George Wolf Elementary School in Bath.

Under the new proposal, like the old one, the Sheckler Elementary School in Catasauqua would probably have to be relocated, said Doughty, adding that he had been consulting with the school administration about it.

"We need to look at options that provide the same level of convenience as the old location does," Doughty said.

Because there would be less land acquisition, the price tag for the expansion would come down, maybe by as much as $4-$5 million, Puckli said. Initial estimates of cost put the expansion at $10 million-$12 million to buy the land and tens of millions of dollars more to relocate those displaced. Six farm homes in the path of the runway would have to be purchased for the runway, he said.

Doughty has said that fewer than 100 homes may have to be bought to make way for the proposed expansion.

The number of homes exposed to the worst of the airplane noise would be cut by 32, according to Puckli's estimates.

Airlines will have to fly quieter airplanes anyway by the year 2001 under a mandate from Congress.

Part of the plan is to divert some of the private and corporate planes to the smaller airports in the area such as Queen City, Slatington, Easton Airport, formerly Braden Airport and Kutztown or open a new small airport as a way to cut down the traffic at A-B-E.

"If we can do that we don't need to build as large a runway or as many runways at A-B-E," said George Doughty, airport executive director.

But Queen City is owned by Allentown and the other airports are privately owned.

"And there's no assurance that they will continue to operate if the private owners find a more profitable use for their land or if they want to get out of the airport business," Doughty said. "And that is a real significant problem for us."

Currently, A-B-E can support 200,000 take-offs and landings annually. It is operating at 68 percent of it's capacity and the Federal Aviation Administration suggests airports start planning for expansion when they reach 60 percent, Puckli said.

Neighbors, developers and officials from the townships where the airport is located have criticized the airport authority for keeping them in the dark about expansion plans and the dislocation of homes and businesses that would result.

Stephen Salvesen, chairman of the Hanover Township supervisors in Northampton County proposed that communities lobby on the state and federal levels to have funding for the expansion denied.

But Puckli said the new runway is needed to maintain the current level of service and avoid delays as the population of the Lehigh Valley grows and more residents and others use the airport.

"We think that with improved service and airfares, the convenience of A-B-Es being here, a greater share of the market will be captured here at A-B-E," said Puckli.

Doughty said he will be getting input from residents, carriers and others on the proposals before the airport authority is asked to vote on anything.

On Oct. 20, Doughty is to meet with residents of Hanover Township, Lehigh Northampton County at Holiday Inn East and on Oct. 21 at 7:30 p.m. with Hanover Township Lehigh County residents at the township building at 2202 Grove Road.